Paper short abstract:

This paper re-examines an early Jesuit text in Japan, a saint story named "Tattoqi Confessores S. Barlan to, S. Iosaphat no Gosagueo", and contributes to our understanding of how the story was Japanized, by considering a Chinese version of the same story alongside the two extant Japanese versions.

Paper long abstract:

This paper re-examines an early Jesuit text in Japan, "Tattoqi Confessores S. Barlan to, S. Iosaphat no Gosagueo" (The Life of the Blessed Confessors Saint Barlaam and Saint Josaphat, below referred as B&J) and contributes to our understanding of how the story was Japanized.

B&J is one of the saint stories included in Sanctos no Gosagveono Vchinvqigaqi (Compedium of the Acts of Saints), which was published in the Roman alphabet by Jesuit missionaries in 1591 as one of the so-called Kirishitan-ban (Christian Editions). As one of the earliest examples of Christian literature, and one that originated from the life of Buddha, B&J has received much scholarly attention from a variety of approaches. One example is Keiko Ikegami's Barlaam and Josaphat: a trancription of MS Egerton 876 with notes, glossary, and comparative study of the Middle English and Japanese versions, which compared it to middle English, Greek, and Latin versions. However, this work was unable to identify the original text of the Japanese version, and has not definitively elucidated the adaptations made for Japanese culture.

By considering a Chinese version of the same story alongside the two extant Japanese versions—a print version in the Sanctos and a manuscript by Jesuit missionary Manuel Barreto (1564-1620)—this paper re-examines the structure and content of B&J and suggests new possibilities regarding the original of the Japanese version.

The Chinese version of 1602 was published only 21 years after the Japanese version; also published by Jesuit missionaries, it has not been examined, though it is a better comparison to the Japanese version than any of the versions used in previous studies. After clarifying some questions related to the original text, this paper will then analyze the particular features of the Japanese version. B&J was believed to be somewhat naturalized to the social and cultural background of Japan in the period. By comparing with the Chinese version, this paper will show that some of the so-called Japanese adaptations are actually shared with the Chinese version, and argue that non-overlapping changes were adaptations made to suit Japan.